Victimology is the scientific study of the victim: the victim's role in the crime event, the victim's injuries (physical, financial, psychological), the victim's treatment by the justice system, and society's responses. The term's coinage is credited to Benjamin Mendelsohn (the 1940s), with Hans von Hentig's early victim typologies (the victim-blaming era's pioneer) and MarvinWolfgang's victim-precipitation studies as the field's next steps (authorities studied by name).
Victimization is the event and process of being harmed by crime: the primary victimization (the offence's direct injury), secondary victimization (harm added by the system's handling — the cruel interrogation, the public hearing), and tertiary victimization (the community's or family's shared injury).
| Layer | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | The offence's direct harm | The assault's injuries |
| Secondary | System-caused harm | Repeated retelling of the rape at every stage |
| Tertiary | Community/family harm | A village terrorized by the attack |